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Red Oak, Iowa
City
Red Oak, IA.jpg
Flag of Red Oak, Iowa
Flag
Location of Red Oak, Iowa
Location of Red Oak, Iowa
Country  United States
State  Iowa
County Montgomery
Area
 • Total 3.98 sq mi (10.31 km2)
 • Land 3.93 sq mi (10.17 km2)
 • Water 0.06 sq mi (0.15 km2)
Elevation
1,050 ft (320 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 5,596
 • Density 1,425.37/sq mi (550.37/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
51566, 51591
Area code(s) 712 Exchange: 623
FIPS code 19-66135
GNIS feature ID 0460554

Red Oak is a city in, and the county seat of, Montgomery County, Iowa, United States, located along the East Nishnabotna River. The population was 5,362 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 6,197 population in 2000.

History

Red Oak derives its name from Red Oak Creek which flows through the community and was noted for the red oaks on its banks. The first settlers arrived there in the 1850s. In 1865 it became the official county seat of Montgomery County and the courthouse which had been in the middle of the county seven miles east in Frankfort, Iowa was towed to the community during a snow storm. That courthouse remained in place until the current Montgomery County Courthouse was built in 1891. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1869 the community was officially founded when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (called the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad at the time) arrived. The community was named Red Oak Junction by the railroad on March 20, 1876. The junction was a line off the main Chicago to Council Bluffs, Iowa line that went to Nebraska City, Nebraska and on to Lincoln, Nebraska. The Junction name was dropped in 1901 although the community continues to celebrate its history each summer in Junction Days. In 1903 a new depot was opened by the railroad. It today serves as a museum celebrating the community's significant military heritage and its disproportionate number of casualties in various wars and most famously in World War II. The depot is one of nine places in Montgomery County on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Iowa.

Darwin R. Merritt, born in Red Oak on April 12, 1872, graduated third in his class from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on July 1, 1897. On February 15, 1898, he perished in the explosion that sank the USS Maine (ACR-1) in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. His body was later recovered and interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Red Oak.

The community has had a disproportionate number of casualties in the Civil War and World War II.

In the American Civil War, the area provided more Union troops per capita than any other in the state. Company M (which also included residents from Montgomery County) had 160 casualties among its 250 members; 52 men were killed in action.

Early World War II battles claimed a disproportionate number of soldiers from Red Oak (although the final casualty statistics tend to disprove the oft-repeated statement that Red Oak suffered more losses per capita than any other American community). In the Battle of the Kasserine Pass in February 1943, forty-five soldiers from Red Oak alone were captured or killed. At the time more than 100 telegrams arrived in Red Oak saying that its soldiers were missing in action. In recognition of Red Oak's extraordinary sacrifice, the city's name was given to a "victory ship". The SS Red Oak Victory has become a floating museum in the shipyard where it was built, in Richmond, California.

The old Burlington Northern depot has been transformed into a museum telling this history.

The Red Oak School District was established in 1870, while Webster Eaton first published the Red Oak Express newspaper in 1868.

Geography

Red Oak is located at 41°0′42″N 95°13′38″W / 41.01167°N 95.22722°W / 41.01167; -95.22722 (41.011681, -95.227227).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.01 square miles (10.39 km2), of which, 3.95 square miles (10.23 km2) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km2) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1870 1,315 —
1880 3,755 185.6%
1890 3,321 −11.6%
1900 4,355 31.1%
1910 4,830 10.9%
1920 5,578 15.5%
1930 5,778 3.6%
1940 5,763 −0.3%
1950 6,526 13.2%
1960 6,421 −1.6%
1970 6,210 −3.3%
1980 6,810 9.7%
1990 6,264 −8.0%
2000 6,197 −1.1%
2010 5,742 −7.3%
2020 5,596 −2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 5,742 people in 2,481 households, including 1,475 families, in the city. The population density was 1,453.7 inhabitants per square mile (561.3/km2). There were 2,887 housing units at an average density of 730.9 per square mile (282.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 0.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.2%.

Of the 2,481 households 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.9% of households were one person and 16.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.

The median age was 42.2 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 20.1% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

Points of interest

  • Red Oak had a horse-drawn streetcar system from 1882 to 1901.
  • It has a transmitter for the Iowa Public television system.
  • Red Oak is mentioned in Willa Cather's 1912 short story The Bohemian Girl.

Education

The Red Oak Community School District operates local public schools.

Notable people

Images for kids

  • BNDepot Night 3 8511sig Cropped

    Restored BN Depot and World War II Museum at night

  • Red Oak Montgomery Co Treasury

    Montgomery County Court House

  • M. E. Church, Red Oak, Iowa

    First Methodist Church, Red Oak, Iowa 1920s

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Red Oak (Iowa) para niños

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